CNBC Starts the New Year Off with a Bang in Primetime with Off-Network Debut of Shark Tank

Shark Tank New Year's Day Marathon Draws CNBC's Largest Average Audience of Adults 25-54 in Six Years

ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS, N.J. —January 6, 2014 — The off-network debut of SHARK TANK on CNBC delivered the network's largest prime-time audience of adults 25-54 in six years. CNBC's SHARK TANK New Year's Day marathon drew more than 4.2 million unique viewers, averaging more than 540,000 total viewers and 240,000 adults 25-54 from 8PM to 2AM ET. During its peak hours, CNBC averaged nearly 700,000 total viewers and 300,000 adults 25-54, ranking #1 during the 10PM hour among all cable news networks in A18-49, A25-54 and A35-64 viewership. The 10PM telecast was CNBC's most-watched program in three years, while the 9PM telecast was CNBC's highest-rated telecast among adults 25-54 in three years.

The premiere night of SHARK TANK on CNBC produced triple-digit ratings growth among total viewers ( 287%) and adults 25-54 ( 345%) compared to CNBC's time period averages during the fourth quarter of 2013.

The critically-acclaimed business-themed reality series features the sharks -- tough, self-made, multi-millionaire and billionaire tycoons – who give budding entrepreneurs the chance to make their dreams come true and potentially secure business deals that could make them millionaires. The sharks include billionaire Mark Cuban, owner and chairman of AXS TV and outspoken owner of the 2011 NBA championship Dallas Mavericks; real estate mogul Barbara Corcoran; "Queen of QVC" Lori Greiner; technology innovator Robert Herjavec; fashion and branding expert Daymond John; and venture capitalist Kevin O'Leary.

Mark Burnett, Clay Newbill and Phil Gurin are the executive producers of SHARK TANK, which is based on the Japanese "Dragons' Den" format created by Nippon Television Network Corporation. The series is produced by Sony Pictures Television.

With CNBC in the U.S., CNBC in Asia Pacific, CNBC in Europe, Middle East and Africa, CNBC World and CNBC HD , CNBC is the recognized world leader in business news and provides real-time financial market coverage and business information to more than 395 million homes worldwide, including more than 100 million households in the United States and Canada. CNBC also provides daily business updates to 400 million households across China. The network's 16 live hours a day of business programming in North America (weekdays from 4:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. ET) is produced at CNBC's global headquarters in Englewood Cliffs, N.J., and includes reports from CNBC News bureaus worldwide. CNBC at night is the all new CNBC Prime featuring a mix of new reality programming, CNBC's highly successful series produced exclusively for CNBC including "American Greed" and "Crime Inc." and a number of distinctive in-house documentaries.

CNBC also has a vast portfolio of digital products which deliver real-time financial market news and information across a variety of platforms. These include CNBC.com, the online destination for global business; CNBC PRO, the premium, integrated desktop/mobile service that provides real-time global market data and live access to CNBC global programming; and a suite of CNBC Mobile products including the CNBC Real-Time iPhone and iPad Apps.